Course directors

• Tony Lomax, Medical Physicist, Paul Scherrer Institute, Villigen & ETH Zurich (CH)
• Beate Timmermann, Radiation Oncologist, Klinik für Partikeltherapie, Universitätsklinikum, Essen (DE)

Teachers

• Piero Fossati, Radiation Oncologist, MedAustron, Wiener Neustadt (AT)
• Semi Harrabi, Heidelberg University Hospital, Heidelberg (DE)
• Morten Høyer, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus (DK)
• Silvia Molinelli, Medical Physicist, Fondazione CNAO, Pavia (IT)
• Stephanie Peeters, Radiation Oncologist/ Radiotherapist, MAASTRO Clinic, Maastricht (NL)
• Marco Schwarz, Medical Physicist, University of Washington, Seattle (USA)

The course aims to:

• Provide a detailed overview of the clinical rationale and indications of particle therapy, and the status of supporting medical evidence including status of clinical trials
• Make understandable the distinguishing features of particle therapy compared to other radiotherapy modalities
• Deepen knowledge of physical, biological, and technical aspects of particle therapy implementation in clinical practice
• Describe and explain particle treatment systems, dosimetry, treatment delivery, treatment planning and articulate the latest technological developments in particle therapy

Learning Outcomes

By the end of this course participants should be able to:

• Understand the radiobiological, physical and clinical rationale for particle therapy
• Have a basic understanding of accelerator technology, current equipment and the practical complexities of building a particle centre
• Understand the differences between active and passive beam delivery technology, and details of treatment planning, specifically of intensity modulated therapy and motion management
• Know the clinical rationale for proton and carbon ion therapy, the current indications and clinical practice according to various disease sites
• Know the current clinical evidence for particle therapy, and the status of clinical trials
• Have a general understanding of the integration of particle therapy in general radiation oncology
• Summarise the latest technical developments
• Have some knowledge of future directions in the research and development of particle therapy

Course Content

Physics and biology: image guidance techniques, dosimetry and quality assurance

• Physical aspects of particle therapy
• Ion source accelerator, beam line and beam delivery technology
• Passive and active delivery
• Biological aspects of particle therapy
• RBE determination, biophysical modelling plan optimisation

Medical Physics: image guidance techniques, dosimetry and quality assurance

• Imaging for treatment planning
• Treatment planning for proton and carbon ion therapy
• Plan evaluation, robustness, quality assurance
• Intensity-modulated particle therapy and image-guided particle therapy.
• Physical and technical approaches to the treatment of moving organs.

Clinical indications, anti-cancer effects, toxicity, challenges and limitations of particle therapy

• Clinical challenges and pitfalls of proton and carbon ion therapy
• Current clinical indications and applications for proton and carbon ion therapy also in combination with systemic treatments, according to pathological and anatomical disease characteristics
• Clinical case reviews and discussions, review of clinical trials
• New trends in radiation oncology and integration of particle therapy
• Future clinical directions and developments.

Roadmap for a particle therapy project

• How to build a new particle therapy facility – from project planning to starting clinical operation
• New technologies for hospital based particle centres
• How to expand an existing radiotherapy department with particle therapy.

Protocol and journal club about latest clinical and physics developments.

Guided tour of the local particle therapy facility

Prerequisites

Before commencing this course, participants should:

• Have a basic understanding of radiobiology and radiation physics
• Know the basics of radiotherapy and radiotherapy planning
• Have a general understanding about the evaluation of medical evidence

Teaching Methods

Interactive lectures, tutorials, journal club, case reviews and discussions and tour at the proton facility

Methods of Assessment

• MCQ
• Evaluation form

Accreditation

Application for CME recognition will be submitted to the European Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (EACCME), an institution of the European Union of Medical Specialists (UEMS). EACCME credits are recognised by the American Medical Association towards the Physician’s Recognition Award (PRA).

Application for CPD recognition will be submitted to the European Board for Accreditation in Medical Physics

Information on the status of the applications can be obtained from the ESTRO office.

The preliminary programme is available here. (Updated 12 November 2024)

Venue

Maastricht UMC+

Room Greepzaal – level 4

P. Debyelaan 25
6229 HX Maastricht

Accommodation

A room can be booked at a hotel of your choice.  However NH Maastricht is located opposite to the course venue.

As soon as we receive a dedicated booking link from NH Maastricht our participant can book and pay via this special link.

NH Maastricht

Forum 110

6229 GV Maastricht (NL)

Contact person: Joyce Dierx

groups.nhmaastricht@nh-hotels.com

For questions, please contact the hotel directly.

Membership

ESTRO members can order products at substantially reduced prices. To benefit from the member registration rate, you must subscribe for the ESTRO membership 2025 BEFORE registering to the course. To become an ESTRO member, benefit from the member registration rate and discover the many other member advantages, please visit the membership page.

Fees

* Members with specialty RadiationTherapist (RTT) may register at the In-Training fee

The fee includes the course material, coffees, lunches, and the social event.

Advance registration & payment are required.

Access to homework and/or course material will become available upon receipt of full payment.

Insurance and cancellation

Participants are strongly advised to take out their own personal insurance policy. ESTRO does not accept liability for individual medical, travel or personal accidents or incidents. Participants are strongly advised to take insurance policies to cover flight and accommodation cancellation penalties. ESTRO will not refund any travel or accommodation expenses.

For any cancellation made by the course or workshop participant, ESTRO School Events Cancellation Policy will be followed and all stated penalty fees will be applied.

Reduced fees

Members from emerging countries may register at a preferential rate of 350 Euro. Emerging country fee applies to individuals from low-income and lower-middle-income economies according to the World Bank listing here.

Additionally, all specialties from the following countries can benefit from this preferential rate: Albania, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Hungary, Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Romania, Russian Federation, Serbia, Turkey, Ukraine.  

The preferential rate of 350 Euro is granted automatically when you click on the  BOOK NOW  button and the three conditions below are met:

1. Only ESTRO members for 2025 are eligible (please make sure your 2025 membership is in order before you click on the BOOK NOW  button)
2. Only one course per person per year can be subsidized by ESTRO
3. Sponsored candidates are not entitled to reduced fees (the invoicing address has to be the one of the participant)  

 Please note:

• We can only guarantee a certain number of reduced fees per course
• Application deadlines are the same as early registration fees 

1. Who is supposed to attend this course?

The course is offering insights in particle therapy primarily for radiation oncologists, physicists, RTTs and industry. However, in the past also administrative staff and others participated in order to understand the field.
 

2. Is this course in person or virtual?

The course is held in person only. There will be no virtual access to the meeting.
 

3. Is the course interactive and give enough room for discussions?

The course will contain discussions with participants at the end of each session. In addition, some topics will involve the audience into questions on slido.
 

4. Will I need to do homework befor attending?

We will ask you to read some articles which will be discussed during the course. The effort will be very limited. Some of you may be involved to summarize the articles. During the course, some additional reading list will be offered.
 

5. Will teaching material be provided to the participants?

​Yes, all presentations will be available through Moodle. In addition, a reading list will be communicated to allow some wrap-up after the course.
 

6. Will I be able to see a proton facility?

Yes, the course will contain a guided tour through a modern proton facility in Maastricht.
 

7. Is there any social activity linked to the course?

The course is supposed to offer various occasions for social interactions. A social get-together will be organized for all attendees. There, you can network with other course participants but also with the faculty. In addition, we will have regular coffee and lunch breaks to meet with the faculty and colleagues.
 

8. Is Maastricht worth a visit?

​​​Yes, definitley Maastricht is worth a visit. It is a university town and a lively place full of young people. You can strole through the streets of the medieval town along the river Maas. Experience the place and have some beers in the pubs and cafes of Maastricht with us!